Insurgent

Released:  March 20^th, 2015

Rated:  PG-13

Distributor:  Lionsgate

Starring:  Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Octavia Spencer, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zoë Kravitz, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, Naomi Watts, Kate Winslet

Directed by:  Robert Schwentke

Written by:  Brian Duffield, Akiva Goldsman, Mark Bomback

Personal Bias Alert:  liked its predecessor, read the book

5.3 of 10

            In defense of this film, I would like to point out that its source material isn’t that great.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading Divergent, even if it was a familiar and ham-fisted plot.  That’s why reading Insurgent was such a letdown, as the few interesting ideas that were present in the previous installment were dropped and the book became a chore to read.  The simple fact is that its author, Veronica Roth, struggles with plotting, character, and emotional description, leaving you with some thoroughly pedestrian writing.  That this series came after the popular and very well-written Hunger Games only accentuates its downfalls, so it comes as no surprise to me that the movie series takes a similar step back in its second outing.

            Insurgent picks up mere days after the events of Divergent, with heroine Tris (Shailene Woodley), boyfriend Four (Theo James), Brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort), and fickle alliance member Peter (Miles Teller) hiding out from the Erudite-Dauntless members who are trying to overthrow their society.  Remember, their dystopian society is based on splitting everyone up into different factions based on personality, making divergents like Tris and Four, who exhibit traits from several factions, extremely dangerous.  That last fact can mostly be forgotten, though, as Insurgent focuses more on Tris and Four’s attempt to take down the mastermind of the Erudite-Dauntless alliance, Jeanine (Kate Winslet), than any major attempts to root out divergents.

            One of the major downfalls that the Insurgent film is forced to carry over from the book is the overwhelming amount of plot.  In fact, the second book ends where most series would end, cramming what should have been two books into one so it can go off to who knows where in its third outing (which I haven’t read).  Pretty much everything else is sacrificed, most notably any hint of world building even as it introduces the audience to new factions within this society.  Without any examination, each new place feels so cookie-cutter thin that the system makes even less sense here than in the first film, and too often explosion-heavy dialogue is leaned on so it all makes sense.

            This was adapted by a trio of writers (which is rarely a good sign), none of whom have stellar track records (an even worse sign).  As I’ve said, they were given rough source material to work with, and even if they failed in certain areas, they did reconfigure the plot into a streamlined, quick-paced action story.  This, along with the brisk score, is the saving grace of the film, as any faults are quickly forgotten as you try to keep up with all the new developments.  Revelations and twists are being thrown at you constantly, and even though it’s frustrating that they aren’t being explored, Insurgent is a thoroughly entertaining ride while you’re on it.

            The Divergent series is rightly accused of being derivative of other YA series, but the film series does face one unique challenge:  almost every actor has a robust career outside the series.  Winslet, Naomi Watts, and Octavia Spencer have all been part of many financially and critically successful films over the past decade, and much of the younger cast have found similar balance in their careers since Divergent’s release.  Winslet, Teller, and Jai Courtney were so busy they were actually filming other movies at the same time as Insurgent, and perhaps it’s the combination of everyone’s busy schedules and the lackluster material that led to the uninspired performances that permeate this film.  Everyone seems only mildly focused, more spitting out the lines than imbuing them with any meaning.  The biggest letdown that stems from this is the complete disintegration of Tris and Four’s relationship, which Woodley and James pulled off quite nicely in the first film but feels entirely wooden here.

             There’s advantages and disadvantages to a dense plot, and most of them can be found in Insurgent.  While it barrels right along at a pleasing pace, it isn’t very engaging from an emotional standpoint, leaving the film entertainingly shallow.  You likely won’t hate it while you’re watching it, but you’ll also probably forget it as soon as the lights come up.

Other Notes:

Ø  The action is a bit underwhelming, with lots of running and gun fighting that is off-puttingly shot, and there’s nothing anywhere near as visually interesting as the fear simulations from Divergent.

Ø  Random Janet McTeer!

Ø  This is the first film I saw in Carmike’s ‘Big D’ format, which features a larger screen, bigger sound, and nicer seats.  The seats were comfy, but the larger screen made shots seem vaguely blurry and the sound was far too loud.

Divergent (2014)

7.5 of 10

Personal Bias Alert:  Read and liked the book, likes the YA female-led action trend, sick of love triangles

            As we all know, there is a deluge of young adult novels being adapted into movies right now.  Most are series, so the studio knows that if they produce a film good enough to appease preexisting fans, they will have another two or three movies that will be guaranteed to make them money.  Some people scoff at this as a blatant cash grab.  Some people write them all off as silly movies for teenage girls.  I’m not one of those people.  The way I see it is that this is simply a genre, with its own subgenres and tropes and restrictions.  Like any genre, there are good films and there are bad, and if you write off the entire thing you will miss some really great films.  “Divergent” isn’t the best this genre has to offer, but it’s far from the worst.

             “Divergent” falls into the dystopian subgenre, where society now organizes itself into five factions based on their personalities.  At sixteen, each person must choose which faction they want to join, and if they don’t fit into that faction they are kicked out to join the homeless people referred to as the factionless.  This isn’t the kind of society that is easy to portray on film and there is little time to explain it.  The screenwriters took the easy way out and had the main character Tris (Shailene Woodley) lay it all out in voiceover to start the film.  It’s clear but not very entertaining, and gets the movie off on the wrong foot.

            Once things get going the film moves along at a well-controlled pace, slowly building up speed without you realizing it.  Tris chooses to leave her family and join Dauntless, the brave, military-esque faction.  Fitting in proves to be hard and is made more complicated by the fact that she is divergent, meaning her personality doesn’t fit neatly into any of the factions.  Divergents are considered dangerous, and many people, including Kate Winslet’s Jeanine Matthews, are on the lookout for them.  Tris does her best to hide her divergence while trying to pass the rigorous initiation test for Dauntless.

            One aspect of the test involves Tris going into a hallucinatory state and being forced to work through her deepest fears.  These are unnerving scenes filmed with a visual flair that make them highlights of the film.  When Tris encounters and overcomes one fear, the scene immediately folds into another, leaving Tris and the audience scrambling to determine what is coming at her next.  It’s unrelenting, and the fact that the fears are character-specific only makes it more engrossing.

            Shailene Woodley handles these action sequences well and seems comfortable carrying such a large film.  She stumbles some in the more nuanced scenes, going a bit bigger than necessary.  Theo James as Four, Tris’s love interest, brings a rigidness that fits his character.  Both performances have their faults, but they oddly balance each other almost perfectly.  The film bucks the love triangle trend, allowing Tris to fall exclusively for Four.  That puts a lot of pressure on Woodley and James to have chemistry, and they seem to fall in love with each other with ease.  That duo was expertly cast and should be capable of carrying the rest of the films in the series.

            The film’s focus takes a turn at the end.  Having read the book, I knew it was coming, but I think it’s handled well.  The steadily increasing pace prepped for it, so by the time everything is revealed, you’re ready for the big ending.

            Other Notes:
Ø  It’s a “The Spectacular Now” reunion!
Ø  In other casting news, Zoë Kravitz plays a friend of Tris.  Zoë is Lenny Kravitz’s daughter, who plays Cinna in “The Hunger Games.”  That family is locking down the YA female-led action movies.
Ø  The music was a little too emotionally manipulative for my taste.
Ø  I tried to refrain from comparing this to any of the other films in this genre, but it’s hard not to considering how much I enjoyed one of the other ones.  *cough* “Catching Fire” *cough*